Aerospace Certification & Compliance Engineer
Location: Newport News, VA
Job Type: Contract
Starting Pay: $60.00/hour; higher pay may be available depending on experience
Position Overview
We are seeking an Aerospace Certification & Compliance Engineer to support aircraft modifications, repairs, and certification projects. This position will coordinate certification requirements, documentation, testing, and regulatory activities from initial planning through approval.
The engineer will work closely with engineering, production, quality, program management, and external regulatory stakeholders to ensure aircraft changes meet applicable FAA, military, customer, and airworthiness requirements.
Key Responsibilities
- Establish certification approaches, compliance plans, and means of compliance for aircraft modification and repair programs.
- Identify applicable FAA, military, customer, and airworthiness requirements and track them throughout each project.
- Prepare and maintain compliance matrices, certification plans, engineering reports, ICA, conformity documentation, and other certification records.
- Coordinate certification activities with Mechanical, Electrical, Design, Stress, Production, Quality, and Program Management teams.
- Work with FAA representatives, DERs, ODA organizations, military authorities, customers, and suppliers on technical reviews, conformity, testing, and approvals.
- Review drawings, engineering analyses, reports, specifications, and test plans for certification compliance.
- Plan and coordinate conformity inspections, ground testing, flight testing, and compliance demonstrations.
- Support aircraft fabrication, installation, troubleshooting, testing, and modification activities.
- Participate in design reviews and provide guidance on regulatory compliance, continued airworthiness, certification strategy, and project risks.
- Maintain certification records under configuration control and follow applicable engineering, quality, and regulatory procedures.
- Support improvements to certification processes, engineering standards, and lessons-learned programs.
- Perform other duties as assigned by the Engineering Manager.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline from an accredited college or university.
- Experience supporting aircraft certification, modifications, repairs, or aerospace product development.
- Working knowledge of FAA regulations, STC processes, FAA Form 337 major alterations, and Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICA).
- Experience developing or reviewing compliance matrices, engineering reports, test plans, conformity documentation, and certification artifacts.
- Ability to interpret engineering drawings, analyses, specifications, technical documentation, regulatory guidance, and military airworthiness requirements.
- Strong analytical, organizational, written, verbal, and technical communication skills.
- Ability to coordinate effectively with Engineering, Production, Quality, Program Management, customers, suppliers, FAA representatives, DERs, ODA organizations, and military authorities.
- Ability to work in both office and aircraft hangar environments.
- U.S. Citizenship or Permanent Resident status required.
Preferred Qualifications
- 5+ years supporting aircraft certification, STC programs, military airworthiness, or other regulated aerospace certification work.
- Experience developing certification plans, compliance strategies, and means of compliance.
- Familiarity with MIL-HDBK-516C and military aircraft modification programs.
- Experience coordinating conformity inspections, ground tests, flight tests, and compliance demonstrations.
- Experience preparing engineering reports, ICA, compliance documentation, and certification packages.
- Knowledge of aircraft systems, structures, avionics integration, and modification practices.
- Experience with configuration management, engineering release processes, and AS9100 quality systems.
- Background supporting continued operational safety, post-certification engineering, certification scheduling, and project risk management.
Success in This Role
Success will be measured by the accuracy and completeness of certification documentation, timely completion of certification deliverables, successful regulatory reviews and testing, compliance with applicable requirements, responsiveness to project needs, and the ability to identify and resolve certification risks.